Showtime Networks Inc

Oscar-winning "Juno" screenwriter Diablo Cody will tackle the subject of motherhood once again in a television comedy for Showtime. The cable network has picked up 12 episodes of "United States of Tara," written by Cody and starring Toni Collette ("Little Miss Sunshine") as a wife and mother of two who suffers from dissociative identity (formerly multiple personality) disorder. Steven Spielberg, who first came up with the story, will executive produce with Cody.

Showtime became the latest TV network to stake out a corner in Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Music store, offering downloads of its original productions, including "Sleeper Cell" and "Weeds." Showtime Networks Inc., a unit of CBS Corp., is hoping to raise its profile by offering its programs to consumers who do not subscribe to the premium pay channel. The network joins Walt Disney Co. and NBC Universal by offering its shows for download on iTunes for $1.99 an episode. -- Meg James

Moving beyond Carmella Soprano, Edie Falco has signed on for a Showtime comedy in which she will play a New York City nurse who doesn't hesitate to tell her superiors off. Described as a dark comedy in the tradition of "Weeds," the series, which doesn't have a name yet, will be shot in New York. Showtime is hoping for a premiere late this year. Falco won three Emmys for her role as a mob wife in HBO's "The Sopranos."

Two filmmakers were refused access to the Smithsonian Institution's collections for their projects but researchers generally have not been restricted so far by the Smithsonian's semi-exclusive deal with a cable network, congressional investigators said. The public has justifiable concerns nonetheless about the 30-year contract between the Smithsonian and Showtime Networks Inc., a cable network owned by CBS Corp., according to the Government Accountability Office.

The Internet is fast becoming an interactive--if not quite aerobic--diversion for legions of couch potatoes, according to research to be released today by Showtime Networks Inc. Nearly one in five U.S. households reports watching television and using the Internet simultaneously, according to the January study. That statistic, which equates to roughly 18 million "convergent" households, has risen 80% since December, 1997, according to Showtime.

The Smithsonian Institution has given U.S. lawmakers a copy of its semi-exclusive television contract with Showtime Networks Inc. -- a deal criticized by researchers, filmmakers and others. Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small told the House Administration Committee that the Smithsonian is locked into the contract for three decades, though many details have not made public.

Showtime Networks Inc. named Robert Greenblatt president of entertainment Wednesday to succeed Jerry Offsay, who several months ago announced plans to retire at the end of the year. Greenblatt, 42, is a partner of Greenblatt Janollari Studio, the production company behind HBO's hit drama "Six Feet Under" and UPN's "One On One."

Showtime Networks Inc. announced Tuesday that it has signed a deal to acquire the exclusive cable-TV rights to seven New Line Cinema films, including the record-shattering "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," which is close to becoming the highest grossing independently-released film in history.

Showtime announced Friday that the pay cable channel will produce an American adaptation of "Queer as Folk," the hit British drama series that has earned rave reviews and much press attention for its frank and witty look at young gay life in Manchester, England. Created by Russell T. Davies, "Queer as Folk" debuted two years ago on the U.K.'

Showtime was sued Monday by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who said the cable television series "Californication" stole the title of their 1999 song and album by the same name. In addition, the Showtime series includes a character nicknamed "Dani California," which is also the title of one of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' songs, the four band members said in a complaint filed in L.A. Superior Court. The band asked for a court order barring Showtime's use of "Californication" and unspecified damages.

Two filmmakers were refused access to the Smithsonian Institution's collections for their projects but researchers generally have not been restricted so far by the Smithsonian's semi-exclusive deal with a cable network, congressional investigators said. The public has justifiable concerns nonetheless about the 30-year contract between the Smithsonian and Showtime Networks Inc., a cable network owned by CBS Corp., according to the Government Accountability Office.

Bret Easton Ellis has come up with "a horror-tinged soap opera" for Showtime. In "The Canyons," a group of twenty- and thirtysomethings in Los Angeles are confronted with violence and manifestations of their own anxieties that may or may not be real, but the author of "American Psycho" and "Lunar Park" says he's not venturing into David Lynch territory. "There are no midgets walking backward," he told the Hollywood Reporter. "We want something much more naturalistic -- a very realistic soap."

The Smithsonian Institution has given U.S. lawmakers a copy of its semi-exclusive television contract with Showtime Networks Inc. -- a deal criticized by researchers, filmmakers and others. Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small told the House Administration Committee that the Smithsonian is locked into the contract for three decades, though many details have not made public.

Showtime became the latest TV network to stake out a corner in Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Music store, offering downloads of its original productions, including "Sleeper Cell" and "Weeds." Showtime Networks Inc., a unit of CBS Corp., is hoping to raise its profile by offering its programs to consumers who do not subscribe to the premium pay channel. The network joins Walt Disney Co. and NBC Universal by offering its shows for download on iTunes for $1.99 an episode. -- Meg James

Fans of Fox's "Arrested Development" take heart: While it remains unclear if the critically acclaimed but low-rated comedy will return to the network for a fourth season next year, the show with Jason Bateman and Jeffrey Tambor may find a home somewhere else. Showtime and ABC have both expressed interest in picking up the program, confirmed Chris Alexander, a spokesman for 20th Century Fox Television, which produces "Arrested Development."

There's a new player in feature films these days, a production company that is attracting big-name actors and directors, tackling difficult material and, with the three Oscar nominations nailed by "Gods and Monsters" earlier this month, even winning academy recognition. The new force in the movie business? An old stalwart in the television business: Showtime.

Showtime Networks will organize college campus screenings of its new reality series, "The Freshman Diaries," starting Wednesday. "Freshman Diaries" is a 10-episode, half-hour documentary about a group of freshmen at the University of Texas at Austin. The show will premiere Sunday. Producers and some of the students will hit the road to nearly a dozen colleges, beginning with Michigan State University on Wednesday and ending with USC Sept. 10.

Kirstie Alley, whose weight gain since her starring role on "Cheers" has been the topic of tabloid articles and comedians' jokes, has found a way to make it pay. Showtime said Thursday that Alley will star in and co-produce "Fat Actress," an unscripted comedy series in which she'll play a fictional version of herself, an actress trying to "find work and true love in an unforgiving Hollywood."

CBS figured it had done everything possible last year to distance itself from a politicized TV historical drama about Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Its chairman, Leslie Moonves, condemned the bias and timing of the project and sent it off to its pay-cable sibling network, Showtime. But on Thursday, "The Reagans," far from being forgotten, raked in seven Emmy nominations -- for Showtime. Michael Paranzino -- a key opponent of the film who launched a website (www.boycottcbs.